Does “CHALTA HAI” culture negatively impacts sustainability of business firms in India? An empirical investigation

Purpose Chalta hai (it is fine or it is acceptable) is an Indian cultural phenomenon that influences attitude towards work and business and diachronically adversely affects both. The purpose of this study is to explore its impact on the sustainability of business firms operating in India. Design/methodology/approach The research has firstly undertaken a theoretical study towards the development of appropriate hypotheses and a corresponding conceptual model, with emphasis on the effects of chalta hai culture as a moderator of the predictor-sustainability linkages. The model has been validated statistically through partial least square- structural equation modelling analysis of usable feedbacks from 349 respondents. Findings The research has concluded that the cultural notion of chalta hai impacts adversely the sustainability of business firms operating in India, with its effects being dominant. Research limitations/implications The research has scholarly and executive implications, as well as socio-cultural implications. The sample, however, allows for conclusions to be drawn reliably but with limited generalizability. Additionally, only three predictors have been considered, bestowing upon future research the task of building on the present model through additional pertinent predictors and boundary conditions that will enhance its explanative power. Practical implications The research has provided a scientifically developed model that guides Indian firm managers through appropriate steps that dissuade stakeholders from exhibiting the behavioural traits and attitudes of chalta hai culture, highlighting along the way its detrimental effects on Indian business sustainability. Originality/value There is little research on the business impacts of chalta hai and regarding the sustainability perspective/focus. In addition, this is in sharp contrast to the spread and impact of the phenomenon. This research and its findings, therefore, are valuable with regard to both their wider context (“chalta hai” business effects) and their specific focus (sustainability).

Sales and Markup Dispersion: Theory and Empirics

We characterize the relationship between the distributions of two variables linked by a structural model. We then show that, in models of heterogeneous firms in monopolistic competition, this relationship implies a new demand function that we call “CREMR” (Constant Revenue Elasticity of Marginal Revenue). This demand function is the only one that is consistent with productivity and sales distributions having the same form (whether Pareto, lognormal, or Fréchet) in the cross section, and it is necessary and sufficient for Gibrat's Law to hold over time. Among the applications we consider, we use our methodology to characterize misallocation across firms; we derive the distribution of markups implied by any assumptions on demand and productivity; and we show empirically that CREMR‐based markup distributions provide an excellent parsimonious fit to Indian firm‐level data, which in turn allows us to calculate the proportion of firms that are of suboptimal size in the market equilibrium.

Labor Regulations and the Cost of Corruption: Evidence from the Indian Firm Size Distribution

In this paper, we estimate the costs associated with an important suite of labor regulations in India by taking advantage of the fact that these regulations apply only to firms above a size threshold. Using distortions in the firm size distribution together with a structural model of firm size choice, we estimate that the regulations increase firms' unit labor costs by 35%. This estimate is robust to potential misreporting on the part of firms and enumerators. We also document a robust positive association between regulatory costs and exposure to corruption, which may explain why regulations appear to be so costly in developing countries.

Impact of Globalisation on Formal, Motivational and Strategic HRM Practices: An Empirical Evidence from India

New economic development, which is a result of globalisation and internationalisation, has exerted tremendous pressure on the Indian human resource functions how to evolve itself and add the value to the outcome of the firm. The present paper precisely discusses the globalisation and its impact on the HRM practices of Indian firm in the light of new economic reforms. This study aims to examine the far-reaching changes in the pattern of HR practices owing to ever-increasing globalisation in India. The data were collected through the selfdeveloped questionnaire from 282 senior HR managers of Indian firms. The principal component analysis with varimax rotation generated three components from fifteen HR practices, namely Formal, Motivational and Strategic HR practices. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique has been applied to understand the relationship between globalisation and three bundles of HR practices by using the SPSS Amos 22 software. The study findings suggest that the role of globalisation cannot be neglected. Indeed, The HR policies and practices of Indian firms are strongly influenced by the pace of globalisation of the Indian economy.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2 October 1869–30 January 1948) is internationally known for his leadership in India’s independence movement and the methods of ahiṃsā (nonviolence) and satyagraha (truth force; nonviolent resistance). Because of his personal ascetic practices, political methods, and selfless service, he was given the honorific title Mahatma, “Great Soul.” Gandhi was born in a bania merchant subcaste in Porbandar (Gujarat), western India. His devout mother, Putali Bai, was a major influence in molding his character. Keeping with the norms of that time, his marriage was arranged at age thirteen to Kasturba, also thirteen. They had four sons—Harilal, Ramdas, Manilal, and Devdas—and many grandchildren. Gandhi’s character and political methods developed through his experiences studying law in England in 1888–1891, and his work commencing in 1893 as a lawyer for an Indian firm in South Africa, where he started a movement to end discrimination against Indians. The writings of Leo Tolstoy and John Ruskin, as well as texts such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Bhagavad Gītā, were influential both in his personal and activist lives. He established ashrams to train an army of nonviolent resisters and to disrupt inequality based on caste, economic status, religion, and gender. In his forty-year tenure as the leader of the movement against British occupation in South Africa and India, he led many nonviolent resistance campaigns, including the Salt March to protest the salt tax and the Quit India movement. He occasionally fasted to resist various forms of violence, including riots against Muslims. His dedication to India’s nation-building earned him the title “Father of the Nation.” Gandhi was also a prolific writer and authored many periodicals and books: an autobiography, a translation of and commentary on the Bhagavad Gītā, the manifesto Hind Swaraj, and others. His nonviolent methods have been utilized by international movements and leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., César Chávez, Nelson Mandela, and Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. Along with laudatory appraisals by prominent thinkers such as Albert Einstein, he has also had many detractors, such as B. R. Ambedkar, who confronted him on his views ofcaste and untouchability. Various Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim leaders saw his views on nonviolence, religion, culture, and politics simply as ideological and unfeasible. Numerous studies focus on his idiosyncratic practices of celibacy and his views on women, caste, and technology, which depict him as stubborn, unprogressive, and even dangerous. Gandhi was assassinated by Nathuram Godse in Delhi, on 30 January 1948. Even though Gandhi appears to be a forgotten figure in India, thousands of books about him, an Academy Award–winning film, and, more recently, renewed interest in his philosophy and methods all are a testament to the ongoing global impact of his life and legacy.

Making a Blue Ocean Shift: Tata Ace captures a new market

Purpose This paper aims to understand how organizations can apply the Blue Ocean Shift process to achieve profitable growth and make competition irrelevant. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach. Based on interaction with the senior management of an organization and secondary sources, this paper presents an application of the Blue Ocean Shift process on a strategic move by an organization to achieve value innovation. Findings This paper presents a case of how Tata Motors Ltd. applied Blue Ocean Shift process to come up with the product Tata Ace, which achieved value innovation while making competition irrelevant. From assessing the current state of play to forming a motivated team, working with suppliers and fulfilling the needs of the non-customers and unhappy existing users, they were able to create a strong position for themselves. Practical implications Blue Ocean Strategy, through a process defined as Blue Ocean Shift, can be applied by organizations to achieve value innovation, change market boundaries and achieve profitable growth through their strategic offerings. It can help them get out of “red oceans” which may be a way to view the existing hypercompetitive world. Originality/value This paper contributes to the application of the Blue Ocean Shift process in the Indian context while studying a strategic move of an Indian firm. It showcases an example of how large Indian organizations can successfully apply the process to achieve value innovation.